Method and means for insulating bulkheads



Nov. 7, 1944. D. J. DE STEFANO METHOD AND MEANS FOR INSULATING RULKHEADS Fiied May 4, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov.7, 1944. J, DE STEFANO 2,362,119

METHOD AND MEANS FOR INSULATING BULKHEADS Filed May 4, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Q QWQ flaw r .7. 05575540 0. 7

Patented Nov. 7,1944

METHOD AND MEANS FOR. INSULATIN BULKHEADS J Dante J, De Stefano, New York, N. Y.

ApplicationMay 4, 1942, Serial No. 441,755

2 Claims. (Cl..7216) This invention relates generally to wall constructions and. more particularly to a method and means for insulating bulkheads.

While, for ordinary purposes, the usual steel sheet type of bulkhead wall is satisfactory, for carrying the general run of cargoes which are not detrimentally affected by changes. in temperature, where the goods are so afiected it is desirable to add insulation.

The insulation is usually applied to the sur-' faces of the bulkhead and while various methodshave been proposed for the isolation of the cargo,

faces of various sized bulkheads and which may conveniently be adapted to conform to unusual surface contours.

Another object herein lies in the provision of an insulating wall covering which is especially adapted and suitable for use in locations where a the basic wall structure is subject to vibration,

invention,

such as the crewfs quarters, bulkheads, magazine bulkheads and storage rooms on ships and other motor driven vehicles.

Another object herein lies in the provision of an insulating wall covering which is especially adapted and suitable for use in locations where v there is afire hazard.

A still further object lies in the provision of a wall covering of an insulating character in which blankets or batts of previously fabricated insulating material are used, said insulating materiaibeing of a fibrous nature having a large number of dead air spaces and a correspondinglyhigh coefficient of non-conductivity.

Another object herein lies in the provision ofzf novel supporting clip structure which is easily attached to the bulkhead and in turn readily penetrates insulating the same in place. 1"

A still further object lies in the provision of a rugged surface coating having water-proofing properties and which'by reason of relatively low material to properly secure.

Q be treated may be readily compensated for. For

surface permeability requires little care and does not require additional surface treatment such as painting.

These objects and other incidental ends and advantages will more fully appear in the progress of this disclosure and be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings constituting a material part hereof similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several'views in which: V

Figure 1 is a fragmented view in' perspective showing a bulkhead constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is. an enlarged transverse sectional view of the bulkhead wall with the insulating means thereon.

Figure 3 is a view in perspective showing aclip as used in the first embodiment of the invention, and prior to the spreading thereof.

Figure 4 is a perspective view taken similar to Figure 3 and showing the clip on Figure 3 in a spread condition. y

Figure 5 is a view in perspective showing a secondform of clip.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary front elevational view, schematic in nature, showing one of the clips corresponding to Figure 4 as engaging a piece of fragmented metal lath.

Figure '7 is a view in perspective showing a third form of clip.

Turning now to the first embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, the insulating means generally indicated by numeral i0 includes the insulating material II, the reinforcing lath [2, the supporting clips l3, and the surface coating I4.

As will more fully appear as the disclosure proceeds, my insulating means may be applied to various surfaces having a multiplicity of surface configurations since the contour of the surface to and method of applying my insulation on a fiat surface. 2

Assuming the insulating means It to be applied upon the bulkhead wall II. the first step is, the aflixation to the wall wot a plurality of the clips ll (see Figure 3). Since all of the clips I3 are substantially uniform, a description of one will sufilce for all. The clip l3 includes a base plate It, a shank l1, and a plurality of fingers or prongs l8. As seen in Figure 3, in the first embodiment, there are two fingers or prongs t9 and 20. The two fingers or prongs l9 and 20 taper toward the forward terminals 2| and 22 respectively by reason of the converging edges 23 and 24 which extend forwardly from the side edges 25 and 26 of the shank l1, and are formed preferably by a bifurcation of the forward end of the shank leaving a slot or indentation 21. The supporting clips may be readily produced by blanking and forming the same from sheet strip stock preferably cold rolled steel of 1 6 inch thickness.

The clips l3 are uniformly distributed over the given area to be treated and their proximity to each other may be adjusted in correlation to the thickness and weight of the other members and coatings applied thereto. I have found an interclip spacing of six inches in all directions to be satisfactory for usewith insulation batt thicknesses of 1 to 4 inches and surface coating thickness of to inch.

I secure the supporting clips Hi to the bulkhead wall l by electrically spot welding each of the clips .in place. This operation is preferably performed by connecting one of a pair of low voltage high amperage terminals to the bulkhead wall itself. This wall is usually composed of a thick plate of steel which forms a low resistance conductor. The other terminal is connected to a contact element which is used both to press the base plate 16 into contact with the working surface of the bulkhead wall l5 and to supply the necessary welding current.

After the clips I3 have been secured in place the insulating material H in the form of large batts or blankets 30 of glass wool is manually pressed toward the bulkhead wall 15. As the blanket of insulating material II is pushed into place, the relatively sharp terminals 2| and 22 form for themselve -openings in the insulating material through which the shanks Il may pass. In each of the clips l3 the length of the shank 11, that is to say the distance between the bend 28 and the inner end 29 of the slot or indentation 21, is preferably substantially equal to the thickness of the blanket 30. Thus, with variations in thickness of l to 4 inche in the insulating blanket which I have found desirable, the shanks of the supporting clips are of corresponding length. By

having the shanks ll of a length substantially equal to the thickness of the insulating blanket when the fingers I 9 and 20 are subsequently bent into their spread position, the insulating blanket is not compressed to cause a loss in insulating efficlency.

After the insulating blanket has been pressed into place upon the supporting clips, it is frictionally retained in place pending the putting in place of the reinforcing lath l2. This latch is preferably composed of so-called expanded metal which is formed by slitting the metal at a pluralityof points, said slits 3! being alternately disaligned. When the metal is expanded or stretched out it may present an appearance as is shown on Figure 6. The reinforcing lath is put in place by having the terminals 2i and 22 of the supporting clips l3 penetrate the slits or openings in the lath.

The spreading of the fingers I9 and ill is the next step. This/maybe done either manually, since the metal of which the clip is formed is relatively soft, or a tool may be used for grasping each prong and bending the same through a right angle so that the clip when so bent will appear as shown in Figure 4.

After all of the fingers l8 of the clips l3 for a given area have been deformed as just described,

the final step in installation is the applying of the surface coating M. This coating .is of cementitious nature and may be prepared in the following manner:

White Portland cement lbs 100 Powdered asbestos 'lbs 100 Magnesium chloride lbs 2 Water gals-.. 12

The various ingredients are preferably mixed in the order given and a tenacious plastic mass results. This mass is preferably trowelled on to the reinforcing lath l2 and it adheres to and forms locks" about the members of the reinforcing lath in a manner similar to that of wall plaster. This coating is preferably put in place to inch thick and the mix described above will cover approximately 520 square feet. Where desired the magnesium chloride may have substituted therefor an equal quantity of a hardening agent sold under the trade-mark Anti- Hydro.

When the coating has hardened it forms 'a densewhite surface which by reason of the reinforcement thereof by the reinforcing lath is extremely durable. The use of white Portland cement produces a bright finished coat which does not require painting or other maintenance for ordinary use. The magnesium chloride or the Anti-Hydro reduces porosity of the coating and has a water-proofing effect upon the mixture. It also tends to reduce corrosion of the metal of which the clips and the lath are composed.

Turning now to the second embodiment'of the invention (see Figure 5), this embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the use of a different form of supporting clip l3. This clip diifers from the clip shown in Figure 3 in the serrations 40' in the converging edges 23 and 24. These serrations are so disposed that they have a ratchet-like action with relation to the insulating blanket 30 and the reinforcing lath l2 serving to maintain them in place while they are being installed and before the tabs or prongs 18 are bent into the spread position thereof. The insulating blanket wall of considerable bulk is relatively light in weight so that ordinarily the blanket tends to remain in place upon the shanks of the clips by friction alone. In ceiling work, however, where the effect of gravity is longitudinally outwardly of the shank of the clip the serrations assist in holding the b anket in place The serrations 40', however, when used in conjunction with the members of the expanded metal lath by reason of the disalignment of the slits in the lath, have a hook-like action in retaining the lath in place until the fingers or prongs are spread. This action .is of a special importance when ceiling treatment is being done and where the areas and consequently the sheets of lath are large.

For the purpose of avoiding needless repetition other parts in the second form of clip are given same reference characters singly primed as those of the first clip.

Turning now to the third form of supporting clip [3" as seen in Figures '7 to 9. inclusive, the

shank ll" is circular in cross-section and this fingers or prongs [8". These prongs are preferably circumferentially arranged and may be spread into the position indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 8 and the full lines in Figure 9 by the use of a spreading tool 50".

After the insulating mat and the reinforcing lath are in place, it is then relatively a simple matter to strike the tool 50" to spread the fingers IS". The tool 50" preferably includes the spreading cone i", a flattening flange 52 and a striking shank 53".

For the purpose of avoiding needless repetition parts in the third form of clip corresponding to the first form of clip are given doubly primed reference characters.

It may thus be seen that I have disclosed a novel means and method for producing insulating coatings upon bulkhead walls; the method is simple, economical and efficient and enables relatively few workers to cover large areas.

As installed the insulating means is clean and bright in appearance and requires no maintenance. The surface is relatively impermeable to moisture so that a waterproof surface is produced enabling rooms so treated to contain various types of commodities. For a given amount of insulating result the total weight of the wall coating is not great so that it may be applied in previously erected structures without substantially affecting the stresses thereon.

When installed in accordance with the method described the insulating means is a permanent installation and resists disintegration because of vibration of the basic wall surface. This effect is obtained, I believe, by reason of the fact that the surface coating is strong and the shanks of the clips serve to inhibit certain distortions from reaching the exposed surface coating.

I have found that the formula for the surface coating disclosed herein produces a durable coat and which has suflicient tenacity at the time it is installed to form a good bond with the supporting metal lath upon which it is placed. When the surface coating is put-in place it also engages the spread fingers of the clips so that a mechanical connection is obtained which prevents movement between the connected members at these points.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

I claim:-

1. The method of installing insulating means to a wall having surface irregularities, which comprises the steps of securing to the surface a plurality of supporting clips; forcing a flexible and compressible insulating blanket upon said clips; conforming the flexible blanket to the contours of the surface of the wall, then applying a flexible metal covering provided with a plurality of openings to said clips, and thereafter locking said metal covering to said clips at the level of the blanket to fix the position of the metal covering with relation to the wall to which the insulation is applied in order to maintain the insulating blanket in uncompressed condition to avoid causing a loss in insulating efficiency.

2'. An insulating structure attached to the surface of a wall comprising, a plurality of clips secured to the surface of the wall; a flexible and compressible insulating blanket penetrated by said clips and conforming to the surface of the wall, said clips having a shank portion substantially equal in length to the thickness of the insulation blanket and bendable fingers extending therebeyond; and a flexible metal cover provided with a plurality of openings, inserted over said clips and being caught thereby at the level of the insulation blanket, and locked thereto by the bendable fingers, to fix the position of the metal covering with relation to the wall to which the insulation is applied to prevent compression of the insulating blanket.

DANTE J. DE STEFANO. 

